Photo by Paloma Ayala, with aerial support from LightHawk. Images are of Lost Valley Ranch under construction.

In a detailed letter and legal memo to Oregon state agencies, Columbia Riverkeeper and coalition partners called on regulators to investigate Lost Valley Ranch’s compliance with water pollution and business laws. The proposed Lost Valley Ranch dairy, located near Boardman, Oregon, would be the second largest factory farm in state history. Our coalition commissioned a flyover of the facility and learned construction is well-underway without critical permits designed to protect groundwater, rivers, and wetlands. Riverkeeper thanks the volunteers at Lighthawk and professional photographer and Riverkeeper Board member, Paloma Ayala, for volunteering their time to secure the photographic evidence. In addition, a big thank you to Tofurky for partnering with us in our efforts to combat the proposed factory farm.

The letter calls on the Oregon Departments of Environmental Quality and Agriculture to investigate whether Lost Valley Ranch began construction in violation of state laws designed to protect water quality and foster corporate transparency. Through public records requests, Riverkeeper and partners also uncovered a November 1, 2016, inspection notice from the Oregon Department of Agriculture identifying actions that appear to violate state water quality protection laws. To date, the state has not fined Lost Valley Ranch or issued any enforcement action.

Lost Valley Ranch would house 30,000 cows and use and store liquid manure in six main lagoons. The company proposes to spread the manure on 5,900 acres of farmland to grow feed and use remaining manure for animal bedding or off-site transfer.

Riverkeeper is working with a coalition of family farm, public health, animal welfare, and environmental groups to protect public water and air resources from factory farms. Other coalition members include: the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club; the Center for Biological Diversity; Columbia Riverkeeper; Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; WaterWatch of Oregon; Food & Water Watch; Socially Responsible Agriculture Project; the Center for Food Safety; the Humane Society of the United States; Friends of the Columbia River Gorge; and Humane Oregon.

Through public records requests, Riverkeeper and partners also uncovered a November 1, 2016, inspection notice from the Oregon Department of Agriculture identifying actions that appear to violate state water quality protection laws. To date, the state has not fined Lost Valley Ranch or issued any enforcement action.
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The do-nothing bureaucrats don’t even issue a slap on the wrist.

In May 2017, Hanford made national news when a tunnel containing highly radioactive waste partially collapsed, triggering a shelter-in-place order for nearby workers and prompting widespread concerns about Hanford’s aging nuclear infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy (Energy) filled the tunnel with grout, a form of cement. Now, Energy seeks to fill a second, larger tunnel with grout. if left in place, the pollution in the tunnels—known as the PUREX tunnels—could pose long-term risks to soils, groundwater, and the Columbia River.

PGE wants to increase smog-forming pollution at its Carty Generating Station, a 450 MW fracked gas-fired power plant. The plant began operating in 2016. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) new draft air pollution permit would allow the Carty Generating Station to emit 800% more volatile organic compounds, a key component of low-level ozone (smog) formation. Join Riverkeeper urging DEQ to hold PGE to its current pollution limits, and not to open the door to more pollution from PGE’s new fracked gas power plant. ACT NOW!